News Corp defends Murdoch over tapes

3 July 2013 Last updated at 19:52 ET

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An excerpt of the recording obtained by Exaro website and broadcast on Channel 4 News

News Corp has defended chief Rupert Murdoch after a secret recording was released of him criticising the police inquiry into alleged phone hacking.

Talking in March to a group of Sun journalists - many of whom are under investigation - he complains about "totally incompetent" police officers.

The recording was obtained by the Exaro website and broadcast on Channel 4 News on Wednesday.

News Corp said Mr Murdoch had shown "understandable empathy" with staff.

Allegations of phone hacking at the now-defunct News of the World thrust the newspaper's owners, News Corp, and its journalists directly into the spotlight.

A separate Scotland Yard investigation is also looking into claims of inappropriate payments made to police.

The BBC's media correspondent David Sillito said that, in July 2011, Mr Murdoch had told the world how humble he was as he appeared before MPs to answer questions about phone hacking.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

I will do everything in my power to give you total support, even if you're convicted and get six months or whatever"

End Quote Rupert Murdoch

Two years on, Mr Murdoch appeared to sound rather different in private, our correspondent added.

"Still, I mean, it's a disgrace," the News Corp boss is heard saying in the tapes acquired by the Exaro investigative website and said to have been recorded at the Sun headquarters in Wapping, east London.

"Here we are, two years later, and the cops are totally incompetent.

'Total support'

"The idea that the cops then started coming after you, kick you out of bed, and your families, at six in the morning, is unbelievable.

"But why are the police behaving in this way? It's the biggest inquiry ever, over next to nothing.

"And now they're arresting their own, who never even took money... they're going to put all newspapers out of business."

He also offered his backing to the journalists, even if they were found guilty.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

No other company has done as much to identify what went wrong, compensate the victims and ensure the same mistakes do not happen again"

End Quote News Corp

"I will do everything in my power to give you total support, even if you're convicted and get six months or whatever," he said.

"You're all innocent until proven guilty."

A spokesman for News Corp told Channel 4 News: "No other company has done as much to identify what went wrong, compensate the victims and ensure the same mistakes do not happen again.

"The unprecedented co-operation granted by News Corp was agreed unanimously by senior management and the board, and the MSC [News Corp management and standards committee]continues to co-operate under the supervision of the courts.

"Rupert Murdoch has shown understandable empathy with the staff and families affected and will assume they are innocent until and unless proven guilty."

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More flood defence spending urged

3 July 2013 Last updated at 23:09 ET By Roger Harrabin Environment analyst

Flood defence spending is still not high enough to combat the risk of water invading people's homes, MPs have said.

The amount spent on UK defences should rise by £20m year on year over the next 25 years, the environment, food and rural affairs committee (Efra) said.

It said spending was not "keeping pace" with the risk of more severe weather.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said that from 2015 it would spend £370m on new defences, rising to more than £400m in 2021.

Ministers have also reached an agreement with the Association of British Insurers guaranteeing affordable flood insurance for people in high-risk areas.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

Maintenance of these defences and effective dredging of watercourses must be a priority"

End Quote Anne McIntosh Chairwoman, environment, food and rural affairs committee

But the MPs said ministers should be attracting much more private funding into defences.

They warned that there was a risk to food production because farmland was not properly protected from rising waters.

And they complained it was short-sighted to keep up spending on building new flood defences while allowing maintenance spending for flood defences and watercourses to fall.

Chairwoman Anne McIntosh said: "Record rainfall in the past two years has led to extensive flooding, cost the economy millions and caused disruption and distress to householders and communities across the UK.

"Additional capital funding for flood defences is welcome since every £1 spent on flood defences delivers economic benefits worth £8.

"But spending on flood defences has not kept pace with rising risks from more frequent severe weather.

"The chancellor must ensure that investment increases by £20m year on year. We need that money over the next 25 years to protect homes and businesses better. Maintenance of these defences and effective dredging of watercourses must be a priority."

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

Flooding is terrible for those affected, which is why we're working on long-term projects to protect people's homes and businesses"

End Quote Defra

The committee has also warned that home insurance premiums for all households could go up to subsidise the insurance costs of those who live in flood-risk areas.

Last week, the government said it had reached the principles of a deal with the insurance industry to cap the amount which most flood-risk householders would be charged for a home insurance policy.

But the committee says current estimates suggest that, on average, that would add about £10.50 a year to each customer's bill.

Ms McIntosh told BBC News: "We were told it would be in the region of £3 for contents insurance, £5 for building insurance - but that has already gone up from £8 to £10.50 and our concern is that, over the next two years, that might rise further."

A Defra spokeswoman said: "Flooding is terrible for those affected, which is why we're working on long-term projects to protect people's homes and businesses."

Follow Roger on Twitter @rharrabin

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Lawrence claims 'dent trust in Met'

4 July 2013 Last updated at 01:06 ET

Two in five Londoners are less likely to trust the Metropolitan Police following claims that undercover officers spied on Stephen Lawrence's family, a BBC London survey indicates.

A ComRes poll of 1,000 Londoners suggested a quarter believe the Met is institutionally racist, including 38% of black and minority ethnic people.

A quarter also believed there was widespread corruption.

But 85% of those polled said they trusted the Met overall.

Trust dented

The Met said the poll showed "particular challenges amongst black and minority ethnic respondents" but that it was pleasing that Londoners are generally confident the Met will protect them.

In a Guardian and Channel 4 Dispatches programme on 24 June, Peter Francis, a former undercover police officer, claimed he was ordered to infiltrate the Stephen Lawrence campaign in 1993.

He said it was a hunt for "disinformation" to use against those criticising the police.

Met commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe has said the claims are being investigated, supervised by the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

Asked to what extent the revelation had affected people's opinion of the Met, 37% told ComRes they were less likely to trust the force.

Twenty-seven percent said they believed the Met was "institutionally racist" - an assessment made in the 1999 Macpherson report into the investigation of the murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence.

Twenty-four percent of respondents said they believed there was widespread corruption in the Met, including more than a third, 36%, of black and minority ethnic (BME) Londoners.

Although overall people said they had trust in the force, the percentage distrusting the Met rose significantly among ethnic minorities with a quarter of black Londoners, 24%, and 15% of all BME people saying they thought the Met was untrustworthy.

This compared to only 9% of white Londoners.

'Profoundly damaging'

Stephen Lawrence was 18 when he was stabbed to death by a gang of white youths as he waited at a bus stop in south-east London.

It took 18 years for Gary Dobson and David Norris to be convicted of his racist murder.

Appearing before the London Assembly's Police and Crime Committee last Thursday Met commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe said he was "shocked" by Mr Francis's claims.

Len Duvall, Labour, Co-operative Member of the London Assembly for Greenwich and Lewisham, said the incidents raised issues in confidence in the management and supervision of the Met.

Mr Hogan-Howe said the overall impact of the allegations were "profoundly damaging" to public confidence.

He said: "Whether it happened 16 or 20 years ago, the echo comes down the years and people want to be sure it's not happening now."

Doreen Lawrence said the claims were like "taking steps back" and that it would take time to get trust in the Met back.

A Met spokesman said its most recent figures showed 80% of victims were satisfied with the service they received- the highest in four years.

ComRes interviewed 1,000 London adults by telephone between Friday and Tuesday for the poll.

Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe will join Vanessa Feltz on BBC London 94.9 from 09:00 BST.

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Military funeral for Drummer Rigby

4 July 2013 Last updated at 04:16 ET

A military funeral for Drummer Lee Rigby is to take place in Greater Manchester on 12 July.

Drummer Rigby, of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, was killed near his army barracks in Woolwich, south-east London, in May.

The funeral will be a private service at Bury Parish Church, broadcast to outsiders via a PA system, an MoD spokesman said.

Two men are due to go on trial in November accused of his murder.

The body of the soldier, from Middleton, will be brought in to the church for a vigil the day before the funeral takes place, it is understood.

A parade of drummers will escort the cortege shortly after 16:00 BST on 11 July, to be met by a guard of honour of 40 soldiers drawn from the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.

The chaplain of 2nd Battalion of Royal Regiment of Fusiliers will conduct a service for the family. The body will be guarded overnight by members of his regiment.

Bury has strong links with Drummer Rigby's regiment, the 2nd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, whose roots go back to the Bury-based Lancashire Fusiliers.

A private committal will then take place at Middleton Cemetery.

Michael Adebolajo, 28, from Romford, east London, and Michael Adebowale, 22, from Greenwich, south-east London, are accused of Drummer Rigby's murder, as well as the attempted murder of two police officers and possession of a firearm with intent to cause others to believe that violence would be used.

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UK 'will work with new Egypt rulers'

4 July 2013 Last updated at 04:31 ET

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Anti-Morsi protesters celebrated in Tahrir Square after the televised announcement

William Hague has said the UK "will work with the people in authority in Egypt" but condemned the overthrow of its president as "a dangerous thing".

The foreign secretary told the BBC the UK wanted to see a civilian-led government in Egypt.

But he said "we have to work with whoever is in authority" to protect Britons and UK firms in Egypt.

Egypt's first democratically elected president, Mohammed Morsi, was ousted by its army on Wednesday night.

It followed mass protests against his government - elected following the 2011 revolution and ousting of former president Hosni Mubarak.

'Dangerous precedent'

Mr Hague told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We don't support military intervention as a way to resolve disputes in a democratic system.

"It's of course a dangerous precedent to do that, if one president can be deposed by the military then of course another one can be in the future - that's a dangerous thing.

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Gen Abdul Fattah al-Sisi said the armed forces could not stay silent to the call of the Egyptian masses

"It's happened so we have to recognise now the situation will move on."

He said it was for political leaders and others to make sure changes were made to ensure the constitution and elections were respected by all, and improve the Egyptian economy.

"We recognise states not governments. We recognise the state of Egypt and we have to work with whoever is in authority in Egypt, we have to do that for the safety of British nationals we have to do that because there are so many British companies there. There isn't really any question of not recognising a particular government."

He said he could "make our views clear" but had to recognise it was a popular intervention as there had been "enormous dissatisfaction" in Egypt and the situation would now "move on".

"We don't support military interventions but we will work with the people in authority in Egypt."

Great turbulence

Mr Hague rejected suggestions that sometimes Western models of democracy should not replace autocratic regimes, which provided stability: "No, I don't think so because stability in the long run comes from democratic institutions and the broad acceptance of a democratic constitution.

"The autocratic regimes that we saw across North Africa, that we saw over the last few decades didn't bring stability of course, because they didn't bring political freedom, they didn't bring economic opportunity for their citizens... stability comes from democratic institutions."

But the route to those democratic institutions could be complicated he said - "What's happening in the Arab Spring may well take a generation and there will be upheavals, there will be great turbulence from time to time.

"I think we have to have the strategic patience to live with that and work with that, and respect the fact people are having debates we had in Europe for hundreds of years about the role of religion in the state."

He added: "Autocracy cannot be the way of the future in the 21st Century and it doesn't bring stability for British interests."

In a TV address on Wednesday evening, the head of Egypt's army, Gen Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, announced that President Mohammed Morsi was no longer in office having "failed to meet the demands of the Egyptian people".

The constitution had been suspended and Mr Morsi's powers would be taken on by the chief justice of the constitutional court, he said.

UK Foreign Office advice urges Britons to avoid all but essential travel to most parts of Egypt and calls on those already there to consider whether they need to remain.

The resorts which are not covered by the advice are:

• the entire region of Sharm El Sheikh, Taba, Nuweiba and Dahab
• the St Catherine's Monastery World Heritage Site
• road travel between the Red Sea resorts
• road travel from the Red Sea resorts to St Catherine's Monastery approaching from the east
• transfers between the resorts and the airports of Taba and Sharm El Sheikh

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Army reservists to get £40m of kit

2 July 2013 Last updated at 22:10 ET

Army reservists are to be given £40m of new kit and more overseas training, Defence Secretary Philip Hammond is expected to announce later.

He will say 68 reserve units will be formed and paired with regular units.

It is part of a long-term plan to cut the size of the regular Army from 102,000 to 82,000 while increasing reservist numbers by 15,000 to 30,000.

Critics say it is an attempt to create "an army on the cheap". Mr Hammond insists savings had to be made.

BBC defence correspondent Caroline Wyatt said the Territorial Army was being renamed the Army Reserve because the government was keen to ensure reservists could serve more closely alongside their regular counterparts.

Continue reading the main story

The MoD and the Army have both invested much time and energy working out how to make the best of a difficult financial situation.

The plans are ambitious and will require a change, not just in the structure of the Army, but also in the UK's attitudes to its reservists - not least the attitude of local communities and employers, whose support in this will be vital.

The government will offer financial incentives to smaller businesses, to encourage them to allow staff to join up. But the recession means that some may remain reluctant to employ staff who will need to spend more time in training and could be mobilised for at least one year in every five.

The changes could be seen as an opportunity to modernize and renew the Army for the 21st Century or as a recipe for uncertainty and demoralisation for regulars.

The government is expected to give reserves more hi-tech equipment this year, including upgraded SA80 rifles and night vision kit as well as improved training and more opportunities to train abroad.

Some £80m is to be invested in the depots and training grounds of the 68 new units.

The proposals will also aim to offer employers greater predictability over the call-out of reservists and will set out the level of financial incentives for small firms that employ them.

And reserve units will be paired with regular units from 2015, with more joint training.

A Ministry of Defence source described the plans, which include a government commitment to spending £1.8bn over 10 years to transform the reserves, as "a radical overhaul".

In April, Tory MP Col Bob Stewart suggested someone at the MoD was "smoking a lot of dope" to believe it would be possible to deploy 30,000 reserve troops.

He said some reservist soldiers would be unable to deploy because it was "inconvenient".

"The government, my government, is trying to get as inexpensive an army as possible... an army on the cheap," he said.

Mr Hammond, who says employers are critical to "making this work", said: "Having a standing army is very expensive.

"Having reserves who are able to deploy in the fourth and fifth turn of an enduring operation like Afghanistan gives us extra flexibility and it does make financial sense."

The latest plans come as a result of the almost 8% cut to the MoD budget announced in 2010.

The MoD aims to reach its target of 82,000 regular soldiers by 2017 while the number of reservists is to increase from 15,000, in 2010, to 30,000 in 2018.

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Ofgem urges energy theft crackdown

3 July 2013 Last updated at 02:03 ET

The energy regulator wants power firms to do more to combat electricity theft, a third of which is stolen each year to power cannabis farms.

Ofgem has published proposals to combat a problem that it says costs customers £200m a year.

Ofgem said new rules should to force suppliers to detect and investigate problems, or risk a fine.

The regulator estimates that there are up to 25,000 cases of electricity theft each year.

Under the proposals, suppliers are being asked to set up a national theft-risk assessment service to help them target premises where there are strong suspicions that electricity is being stolen, most commonly through tampering with meters.

Ofgem says theft costs paying electricity customers the equivalent of £7 each a year.

The Ofgem proposals include:

• Setting up an industry code of practice governing how theft investigations should be carried out to ensure there is a consistent approach across the industry
• Coordinating efforts to tackle theft relating to cannabis farms with other agencies such as the Home Office and local police forces
• Sharing best practice across the industry about how cases of theft have been identified
• Setting up a 24-hour hotline to report suspected theft

Andrew Wright, Ofgem chief executive, said: "The reforms build on similar obligations we introduced at the start of this year for suppliers to address gas theft more vigorously.

"All these measures will help to improve the confidence of consumers, who want reassurance that the energy market is fair."

Energy UK, the trade association for the industry, welcomed Ofgem's consultation.

"Electricity theft is dangerous and illegal," it said. "Electricity theft also costs honest customers money which is why energy companies take this - and gas theft - very seriously.

"Ofgem's consultation is a positive move to cut down crime, and we look forward to working closely with them and others in the industry on this."

The deadline for responses to Ofgem's proposals is 28 August, with a theft-risk assessment service scheduled to be up and running in the first quarter of 2015.

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Alun Wyn Jones named Lions captain

AUSTRALIA V BRITISH AND IRISH LIONS, THIRD TEST

• Venue: ANZ Stadium, Sydney
• Date: Saturday, 6 July
• Kick-off: 11:00 BST (20:00 local)

Coverage: Live text commentary on BBC Sport website, updates on BBC Radio 5 live

Wales lock Alun Wyn Jones will captain the Lions in the final Test against Australia on Saturday after Brian O'Driscoll was dropped from the squad.

Irishman O'Driscoll was favourite to replace injured skipper Sam Warburton and has been left "totally gutted" by his shock omission.

Alun Wyn Jones is one of 10 Welshmen in the side, equalling the Lions record.

Analysis

"You just wonder if they got a lucky bag and picked some names out. The Lions won the first Test and made eight changes to their squad. The Wallabies won the second and probably won't make any changes. The Lions lose by one point and there are six changes in the team and three guys on the bench who were nowhere near the team for the second Test. I was convinced Brian O'Driscoll should have been named as captain. It's catastrophic leaving him out. He's still one of the top centres in world rugby. He's a fantastic guy and has been on four tours and knows it all inside out. It's a massive mistake."

Coach Warren Gatland makes six changes to the team beaten in the second Test, with centre Jamie Roberts fit to start.

Prop Alex Corbisiero, hooker Richard Hibbard, flanker Sean O'Brien, scrum-half Mike Phillips and number eight Toby Faletau are also included.

There is a further positional change, with Jonathan Davies reverting to his more regular outside centre role, having started in the number 12 jersey for the first two Tests alongside O'Driscoll.

With the series tied at 1-1, Gatland - also head coach of the Wales national side - turned to many of the players he knows from that role for the deciding final game in Sydney.

The selection of 10 Wales players equals the record for the number of Welshmen in a Lions starting XV set in the first Test against Australia in 1950, while there are also three Irishmen and two Englishmen.

The record for the number of players from a single country is 12, when a dozen Englishman started for the Lions in the late 1880s.

Roberts missed the first two Tests - a 23-21 victory in Brisbane followed by a 16-15 defeat in Melbourne - with a hamstring problem but returns to partner Davies after O'Driscoll's omission.

O'Driscoll, 34, was seen as the likely replacement for Warburton as he has led sides at international level on a world-record 84 occasions - in 83 of his 125 Tests for Ireland, plus the first Lions Test in New Zealand in 2005.

He has also captained the Lions in six other tour games, but his performances in the first two games against Australia prompted Gatland to look elsewhere.

Brian O'Driscoll's Lions record

Tours: 4 (2001, 2005, 2009, 2013)

Matches: 18 (8 Tests)

Tries: 9 (1 in Tests)

Captain: 7 times (1 Test)

Test record: 2 wins, 6 defeats

O'Driscoll wrote on Twitter:  "Obviously totally gutted at being left out for deciding Test but all efforts go into preparing the boys to see it through."

Gatland said it was the first time a coach had dropped O'Driscoll in "15 years of rugby".

"It's not easy for that to be the first time but he is still going to be very important for us in the next 72 hours in terms of his experience and leadership," added Gatland.

"Brian was disappointed but he appreciated that he was spoken to before the team announcement.

"Jamie is back fit and has been given the nod because of his partnership with Davies."

Alun Wyn Jones leads the Lions for the first time, though the 70-times capped 27-year-old has captained Wales once before.

"Hopefully I've been selected for the way I play and not necessarily the way I lead," said the second row. "I played from the start of the tour with an eye on getting into the first Test.

"To be selected in the position I am for the final Test is a pretty special moment for me personally, but obviously there's still a job to do."

Gatland added: "He leads from the front. He's been outstanding in the lead-up games and was one of the first names on the teamsheet when we picked the side for the first two Tests.

"He'll lead by example. There are leaders in other positions as well."

The new Lions captain will line up opposite Australia counterpart James Horwill, who was cleared of stamping on the Welshman's head in the first Test.

Most minutes played on tour (after nine games)

425 Jonathan Davies

379 Jamie Heaslip

375 Alun Wyn Jones

355 Dan Lydiate

353 George North

With Warburton absent, versatile Irishman O'Brien, who has started two games at six and two at seven on tour and came on at number eight in the second Test, gets the nod over open-side specialist Justin Tipuric, who is on the bench.

There are further changes among the replacements, with lock Richie Gray included in the matchday squad alongside centre Manu Tuilagi.

Hooker Tom Youngs and prop Mako Vunipola drop down to the bench, but O'Driscoll, scrum-half Ben Youngs and number eight Jamie Heaslip are omitted from the 23 altogether.

This will be the third successive Lions tour to Australia that has gone to a decisive third Test. The Lions won 19-18 in Sydney in 1989 but were beaten 29-23 on their most recent tour in 2001. They have not won a Test series anywhere since their victory in South Africa 16 years ago.

British and Irish Lions: Leigh Halfpenny (Wales); Tommy Bowe (Ireland), Jonathan Davies (Wales), Jamie Roberts (Wales), George North (Wales); Jonathan Sexton (Ireland), Mike Phillips (Wales); Alex Corbisiero (England), Richard Hibbard (Wales), Adam Jones (Wales), Alun Wyn Jones (captain, Wales), Geoff Parling (England), Dan Lydiate (Wales), Sean O'Brien (Ireland), Toby Faletau (Wales).

Replacements: Tom Youngs (England), Mako Vunipola (England), Dan Cole (England), Richie Gray (Scotland), Justin Tipuric (Wales), Conor Murray (Ireland), Owen Farrell (England), Manu Tuilagi (England).

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Britons told to avoid parts of Egypt

3 July 2013 Last updated at 02:21 ET

Britons have been advised to avoid all but essential travel to parts of Egypt amid mass protests about the country's leadership.

The Foreign Office advice covers all areas except Red Sea resorts in South Sinai and resorts on the Egyptian mainland in the Red Sea governorate.

In the latest violence, several people were killed at a rally in support of President Mohammed Morsi in Cairo.

The FCO said Britons in Egypt should consider whether they need to remain.

The resorts which are not covered by the advice are:

• the entire region of Sharm El Sheikh, Taba, Nuweiba and Dahab
• the St Catherine's Monastery World Heritage Site
• road travel between the Red Sea resorts
• road travel from the Red Sea resorts to St Catherine's Monastery approaching from the east
• transfers between the resorts and the airports of Taba and Sharm El Sheikh

The travel advice said the FCO was "not recommending immediate departure at the moment" for Britons already in the country, but in areas where all but essential travel is discouraged, people "should consider whether they have a pressing need to remain."

They were urged to stay safe and keep a low profile.

Stabbing and rapes

The advice highlighted violence at recent demonstrations, including the death of a US citizen in Alexandria last week, reportedly stabbed after he was seen filming a demonstration there.

More than 40 rapes and sexual assaults of Egyptian and foreign women were reported at demonstrations on 30 June, the FCO said.

Mr Morsi became Egypt's first Islamist president on 30 June 2012, after winning an election considered free and fair following the 2011 revolution that toppled Mubarak.

Despite the violence as anti-Morsi protesters call on him to step down, he has insisted he remains the country's legitimate president.

In a late-night TV address, Mr Morsi rejected an army ultimatum that the crisis be resolved by Wednesday.

Mr Morsi said he would not be dictated to and urged protesters to remain peaceful.

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'Health tourists' face NHS charge

3 July 2013 Last updated at 03:13 ET

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Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt: "It is a national health service not an international health service"

Non-EU nationals who come to the UK for more than six months could be charged at least £200 a year to access NHS treatment, it will be announced later.

The charge - an attempt to crack down on so-called "health tourism" - will be on top of visa charges, officials say.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, who is expected to announce a public consultation, said he was "determined to wipe out abuse in the system".

Some doctors have claimed the move would turn surgeries into border posts.

The government believes some people come to the UK to take advantage of the system, but the extent of the problem is unknown.

The Department of Health said the cost of treating foreigners is at least £30m a year for the NHS in England alone - although Dr Clare Gerada, chairwoman of the Royal College of GPs, said that was the equivalent of just two hours of the NHS's annual spending.

Mr Hunt told BBC Breakfast foreign students would pay the fee along with visa costs, but said he was not sure how other visitors would be charged.

He said the government was considering methods of collecting the money "centrally", rather than asking NHS services to do so.

Continue reading the main story

My first duty is to my patient - I don't ask where they're from or whether they've got a credit card or whether they can pay"

End Quote Dr Clare Gerada Royal College of GPs

He insisted he was "not talking about turning anyone away", saying people would be "chased up" for money after receiving treatment.

BBC political correspondent Robin Brant said the NHS was free at the point of delivery - no matter who you were or where you came from.

Foreigners were entitled to various treatments, including emergency care and treatment for diseases like HIV and TB, he said.

Mr Hunt said the government needed to "ensure that those residing or visiting the UK are contributing to the system in the same way as British taxpayers and ensure we do as much as possible to target illegal migration".

"We have been clear that we are a national health service not an international health service and I am determined to wipe out abuse in the system," he added.

The government is also considering ending free access to GPs for foreigners staying less than six months.

'Public concern'

Some doctors have warned they fear being turned into "a form of immigration control".

The Royal College of GPs told BBC News the plans would place further burdens on doctors.

Dr Gerada said: "My first duty is to my patient - I don't ask where they're from or whether they've got a credit card or whether they can pay."

Labour health spokesman Jamie Reid, meanwhile, said more details were needed about the extent of the problem.

"It's absolutely essential that any policy in this regard is based upon facts, it's not based upon perceptions or dog-whistle policies or assumptions which are proven later not to be true," he told BBC News.

"But it's absolutely the case that this is our national health service, it's not an international health service, and it should be treated as such."

The National Aids Trust said the policies would "undermine years of work to encourage marginalised at-risk groups to access HIV testing and treatment".

Chief executive Deborah Jack said "limiting access to primary care for some migrants" would cut off "the only place many of them will get an HIV diagnosis - short of presenting at A&E many years after they were infected once they are very seriously ill".

She added: "If they go ahead, they risk putting lives at risk and accelerating the spread of HIV in the general population."

The Department of Health said people with HIV would still receive free healthcare if the scheme was introduced.

The government has previously said a government-wide push to cut "benefit tourism" was being considered in response to "widespread public concern".

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